Two Dutchmen go on trial this week accused of watching Filipino children being abused via a live internet link.

A 55-year-old man from Almelo is accused of paying to watch two young sisters being abused via a webcam for almost a year. In a separate case, a 26-year-old man from Spijk faces similar charges.

Public prosecutor Linda van den Oever told broadcaster NOS that the switch towards live streaming abuse is “the new version of old-fashioned child sex tourism”.

“The client in a western country pays for the abuse of a child on the other side of the world. This has unfortunately become more common since the coronavirus pandemic, not just in the Netherlands, but everywhere.”

Court cases are rare because it is difficult to trace the people paying for the abuse, Van den Oever said. “There is one-on-one contact between the client and the victim and live streams are rarely recorded.”

An additional problem is that contact takes place via encrypted chat and video apps and the police have no access, she said.